PETREAN NEWS SPRING 2007 By Ann Munro, Development Officer Jason Short We’ve now come full circle since the appearance of the first Peterhouse e-Newsletter, in April 2006, this being the fourth issue of what has so far proved to be a popular supplement to the annual Peterhouse Newsletter and the Peterhouse Annual Record. The ‘Your News’ section has provoked many welcome responses and contributions. As has been suggested by many of you, I’ve incorporated personal news such as marriages and births. It was always hoped that Petrean News would be particularly effective in building links between alumni and current students, and this issue also focusses more closely on this aspect. Jason Short Jason Short RECENT EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES Telephone Campaign 2007 Just after the New Year, the Development Office launched its third successive telephone campaign. We are pleased to announce that, to date, we have raised over £150,000, with donations still coming in – gratifyingly, a little more than the amount raised at the same point through last year’s campaign. Once again, we are particularly grateful to all our members who have made, or renewed, a donation to the Development Campaign as a result of being called. The feedback from our Junior Member callers confirmed that they again enjoyed the experience of talking with you about your time at the College. Our grateful thanks go to all our Junior Members who assisted us throughout the campaign. Paul Powlesland (matric. 2004), the recipient of the much-coveted prize of an iPod Nano, presented to him by the Master for making the most telephone contacts, comments on his experience of the campaign as follows: ‘Looking around the room on the first day of the telephone campaign, it was obvious that I was not the only one who was nervous about making my first call. However, it was soon clear that I need not have worried as, although some Petreans were more enthusiastic about the campaign than others, everyone I called was, without exception, friendly and polite. Furthermore, the majority were really pleased to hear from a current undergraduate about how Peterhouse was doing and how it had developed since their time here. Given that the Petreans we were calling ranged from those who had been at Peterhouse before the Second World War to those who had left only a few years ago, it was also fascinating for us to hear how Peterhouse had changed and how, in many respects, things had stayed much the same! As well as getting in touch with Petreans, the Campaign also helped to raise a significant amount of money for the Peterhouse Development Fund. Although I had expected to raise some money for the Campaign, the generosity of Petreans was impressive and helped to make my job really rewarding and worthwhile. This is especially so given that the fruits of the Development Campaign are already beginning to be seen around College and have assisted me greatly during my time at Peterhouse.’ Petreans in the USA Sir Christopher Meyer (matric. 1962, Honorary Fellow and member of the Advisory Board for the Development Campaign) was the guest of honour at two dinners and a luncheon for invited Petreans in Washington, D.C., New York and Harvard University in early December 2006. Sir Christopher was H.M. Ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003, and is now Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission in the U.K. The dinners are a first stage in a new programme to enhance relations with all U.S.-based Petreans, and to seek their involvement and support. Lent Bumps 2007 (article by Patrick Overy, matric. 2003, Boat Club Development Officer) Alan Henrick The 2007 Lent Bumps always looked to be promising for the Peterhouse Boat Club – an unusually high number of crews, five in total, were training from the first week of Term, with most of the squad returning for a training camp 10 days before Term began. The Bumps campaign did not start quite as we might have wished; in the ‘Getting-on’ Race, the Men’s 3rd VIII were unfortunate to miss the qualifying time for Bumps by just a few seconds, and one of the 2nd Women’s VIII suffered a badly-pulled muscle at the start of the course, forcing the crew to paddle virtually the entire course with only six rowers. The PBC therefore entered the bumps with three crews, the 1st Ladies VII (pictured) starting in their highest position ever in the Lents. Crews in Bumps often use their high placing as an excuse for poor performance. The Peterhouse Ladies were determined that this would not be the case, and showed their determination in style. They won their blades with four quick ‘textbook’ bumps, catching Jesus II, King’s, Robinson and finally New Hall (the final bump being made at First Post Corner, an impressive feat starting from the top stations) to reach the Head of the Second Division. As ‘sandwich boat’ they became the first Peterhouse Ladies VIII ever to row in the First Division of the Lents. Despite closing rapidly on St Catharine’s, they ‘caught a crab’ under the motorway bridge, sadly causing them to miss their fifth bump. However, their achievements leave them at the top of the Second Division, and comfortably ahead of every College 2nd VIII. The 1st Men’s VIII had a much more frustrating week, which failed to deliver the results expected after a hard term of training. Despite being arguably the second fastest boat in their division, they were unfortunate to be starting ahead of First and Third II, the Club whose 1st VIIIs clinched both Headships. They made a valiant effort to escape the clutches of 1st and 3rd by making a quick bump on Sidney Sussex, and came within a canvas of doing so before being obstructed by the oars of a crew that had already bumped out – this cost them distance against both crews, and allowed First and Third to catch them before they could make a bump themselves. A strong rowover on the second day set the scene for a bump on Sidney on day three, leaving them chasing Girton on the final day, a crew from whom they had taken five lengths while chasing the overbump on day two. However, this bump was not to be – Peterhouse closed to within a canvas by the first corner, but a mass of bumped-out crews left the river blocked: technical rowovers were awarded, leaving the 1st VIII level with its starting position. The 2nd Men rowed well throughout the Bumps, rowing straight past First and Third IV on the final day to finish up one place over the week. The Bumps Supper was a great success, celebrating, in particular, the Ladies’ achievements. The dinner was attended and enjoyed by some fifteen PBC alumni of a variety of ages, many of whom are planning to return for the May Bumps Supper on Saturday 16th June. Anyone who would like an invitation to the dinner should contact the Boat Club’s Development Officer: [email protected]. Hannah Darke COLLEGE NEWS Award-winning entrepreneur Pete Davies (matric. 2003), a final-year Manufacturing Engineering student, was recently in a four-strong student team that won both UK and international awards for their invention of a mobility aid for the blind/visually impaired. Full details of his triumph can be seen in the following news articles: o Winning the ‘Varsity Pitch’ award for entrepreneurial Oxford or Cambridge Students: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2007022102 o Winning the Next Generation Entrepreneur Forum (NGEF) competition in Monaco: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2007030701 Expedition to the Himalays Earlier this term, we were contacted by Elli Pirkis (matric. 2005), who asked us to share with you her hope of climbing Mount Cho Oyu in Tibet. Elli is pictured, below, on a recent climb in Nepal. She writes as follows: ‘I'm a second year Art Historian at Peterhouse. I also do lots of climbing during University vacations, and this Easter I'm going on a big expedition to the Himalayas. I'm hoping to climb a mountain in Tibet called Cho Oyu which, at 8201m, is the sixth highest in the world. I'm going to attempt it without supplementary oxygen; and, if successful, I would be the youngest British woman to have climbed it. Elli Pirkis As well as looking for personal sponsorship to help pay for the expedition, I'm fundraising for a charity called Moving Mountains which supports remote rural villages in Nepal and slum communities in Kenya. My fundraising website is www.justgiving.com/ellichooyu.’ Publication announcement: the Gunn Gallery The publication of the LIBER book on new Cambridge Library architecture, which features the Gunn Gallery in the Ward Library, and to which members of Peterhouse have contributed, is available from Heffers, price £26. Details of the book are as follows: Furtherance of academic excellence: documentation of new library buildings in Cambridge, ISBN 3930457814 and 9783930457816. Compiled by Alison Wilson; edited by Elmar Mittler. Göttingen, Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, 2006. (Göttinger Bibliotheksschriften, 37). FORTHCOMING EVENTS • Camerata Musica Concerts o Saturday, 12th May 2007, The Tallis Scholars, conducted by Peter Phillips. Programme to include: Palestrina, Laudate pueri dominum, Dum complerentur, Lamentationes III de Sabbato, Alma redemptoris mater; Allegri, Miserere; Monteverdi, Missa in illo tempore; Tallis, Music from the Peterhouse Choir Book, c. 1635. Tickets are available from the City Centre Box Office, Wheeler Street, Cambridge CB2 3QB: telephone 01223 357851. • Peterhouse Music Society o Saturday, 28th April 2007, Lubbock Room, 8.30 p.m.